Changes for page Mission Director Guide

Last modified by Klaus Meyer on 2025/03/31 16:39

From version 32941.1
edited by Daniel Turner
on 2023/08/22 17:10
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To version 32937.1
edited by Daniel Turner
on 2023/08/22 16:41
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1 -The Mission Director (MD) is a subsystem of the game and interprets mission scripts, which are written in an XML-based language. The Mission Director in X Rebirth and X4 is based on the MD in X3: Terran Conflict, with some major changes based on feedback from MD users.\\
1 +The Mission Director (MD) is a subsystem of the game and interprets mission scripts, which are written in an XML-based language. The Mission Director in X Rebirth and X4 is based on the MD in X3: Terran Conflict, with some major changes based on feedback from MD users.
2 2  
3 -An introduction to the original MD can be found in the[[(% style="color: rgb(0,0,153);text-decoration: underline;" %)Egosoft forums>>url:http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=196971]](%%). There is also a PDF guide for the X3 Mission Director, which is partially used as a template for this document.
3 +An introduction to the original MD can be found in the[[ (% style="color:#000099; text-decoration:underline" %)Egosoft forums>>url:http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=196971]](%%). There is also a PDF guide for the X3 Mission Director, which is partially used as a template for this document.
4 4  
5 5  This document is primarily supposed to be a guide for MD users (people who use the MD to develop missions or write other MD scripts), not for MD programmers (people who work on the MD engine in C++).
6 6  
7 7  {{{The general MD scripting system is the same in XR and X4, so this guide applies to both games. However, each game has its own set of supported script features (i.e. actions, conditions and properties), so in general scripts from different games are not compatible.}}}
8 8  
9 -(% id="md-scripts" %)
10 10  
11 11  {{toc/}}
12 12  
... ... @@ -16,15 +16,13 @@
16 16  
17 17  MD files are XML files located in the game folder {{code}}md{{/code}}. All XML files in that folder are loaded at game start. The file names are irrelevant, since the internally used script names are read from the XML root nodes. However, itΓÇÖs recommended to keep file name and internal script name identical to avoid having to look up the names.
18 18  
19 -To edit MD scripts, an XML editing tool is needed. Microsoft Visual Studio (if available) or [[(% style="color: rgb(0,0,153);text-decoration: underline;" %)Microsoft Visual Web Developer>>url:http://www.microsoft.com/express/vwd/]](%%) (for free) are highly recommended because they have pretty good support for XML schemas (XSD). The provided Mission Director schema files help you create the XML file by displaying all available tags and attributes as you edit the XML.
18 +To edit MD scripts, an XML editing tool is needed. Microsoft Visual Studio (if available) or [[(% style="color:#000099; text-decoration:underline" %)Microsoft Visual Web Developer>>url:http://www.microsoft.com/express/vwd/]](%%) (for free) are highly recommended because they have pretty good support for XML schemas (XSD). The provided Mission Director schema files help you create the XML file by displaying all available tags and attributes as you edit the XML.
20 20  
21 21  This functionality is only available if the schema files **md.xsd** and **common.xsd** are in the correct folder. If you are editing the XML in the game folder directly, all is well and the files are loaded from the libraries folder. However, if you are editing in a separate folder, copy those XSD files from the libraries folder directly into the folder where your XML files are located.
22 22  
23 -{{info}}
24 -Even if your script is free of XSD errors, that does not mean that the script syntax is correct. For example, there are XML elements that require at least one of multiple attributes, but this requirement cannot be reflected in a schema (apart from documentation text). Please notice the XSD documentation of the elements and attributes, e.g. displayed via tooltips in Visual Studio / Visual Web Developer. Please also note additional requirements for MD cue attributes in this guide (see [[NULL|Conditions]]).
22 +{{note body="Even if your script is free of XSD errors, that does not mean that the script syntax is correct. For example, there are XML elements that require at least one of multiple attributes, but this requirement cannot be reflected in a schema (apart from documentation text). Please notice the XSD documentation of the elements and attributes, e.g. displayed via tooltips in Visual Studio / Visual Web Developer. Please also note additional requirements for MD cue attributes in this guide (see [[NULL|Conditions]]).
25 25  
26 -To check for errors, please pay attention to in-game error messages that are produced while your script is imported, and run-time errors while the script runs. The XSD files can help you a lot, but you should not rely on the absence of XSD errors."
27 -{{/info}}
24 +To check for errors, please pay attention to in-game error messages that are produced while your script is imported, and run-time errors while the script runs. The XSD files can help you a lot, but you should not rely on the absence of XSD errors."/}}
28 28  
29 29  == Script debug output ==
30 30  
... ... @@ -32,33 +32,37 @@
32 32  
33 33  To collect all messages in a file, start the game with the following parameters on the command line:
34 34  
35 -{{code}}-logfile debuglog.txt{{/code}}
32 +{{code}}
33 +-logfile debuglog.txt
34 +{{/code}}
36 36  
37 37  All messages, including enabled non-error messages, will be written into the log file. You can find it in your personal folder, where your save folder is located. To enable scripting-specific debug messages, add the following to the command line:
38 38  
39 -{{code}}-debug scripts{{/code}}
38 +{{code}}
39 +-debug scripts
40 +{{/code}}
40 40  
41 -Other debug filters other than "scripts" can be enabled by repeating the -debug command for each filter name, but that is rarely needed for scripting.\\
42 +Other debug filters other than "scripts" can be enabled by repeating the -debug command for each filter name, but that is rarely needed for scripting.
42 42  
43 -The script action <debug_text> can be used to print debug messages from within a script.\\
44 +The script action <debug_text> can be used to print debug messages from within a script.
44 44  
45 45  = MD script structure =
46 46  
47 47  In this section we will look at how to start the whole process by creating a new MD mission file and the basic steps in producing mission content with XML code. There will be a description of the key elements of the mission file.
48 48  
49 -The XML root node of an MD file is called ΓÇ£mdscriptΓÇ¥ and looks like this:
50 +The XML root node of an MD file is called mdscript and looks like this:
50 50  
51 51  {{code language="xml"}}
52 -<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
53 +
53 53  <mdscript name="ScriptName" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="md.xsd">
54 54  {{/code}}
55 55  
56 -ΓÇ£ScriptNameΓÇ¥ is the name used for this script regardless of the file name. It **has to start with an upper case letter and must be unique** among all MD script names. It also should not contain spaces, so other MD scripts can use it as an identifier to access this scriptΓÇÖs contents easily.
57 +ScriptName is the name used for this script regardless of the file name. It **has to start with an upper case letter and must be unique** among all MD script names. It also should not contain spaces, so other MD scripts can use it as an identifier to access this scriptΓÇÖs contents easily.
57 57  
58 58  The only allowed sub-node of <mdscript> is <cues>, which can only contain <cue> sub-nodes:
59 59  
60 60  {{code language="xml"}}
61 -<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
62 +
62 62  <mdscript name="ScriptName" ...>
63 63   <cues>
64 64   <cue name="RootCue1"> [...]
... ... @@ -77,16 +77,14 @@
77 77  
78 78  * **Disabled**: The parent cue has not become active yet, so this cue is basically non-existing.
79 79  * **Waiting**: Either this is a root cue, or the parent has become active. The cue is checking its conditions and will become active when they are met.
80 -* **Active**: The cue is about to perform the actions. Child cues have entered the waiting state.\\
81 +* **Active**: The cue is about to perform the actions. Child cues have entered the waiting state.
81 81  
82 82  
83 -
84 84  * **Complete**: The cue has finished performing its actions.
85 85  * **Cancelled**: The cue has been cancelled. This state cannot normally be reached but only if a cue actively cancels itself or another cue. No condition checks or actions are performed in this cue or any sub-(sub-)cue.
86 86  
87 -\\
88 88  
89 -{{info}}There can be a delay between the activation and performing the actions if the &lt;delay&gt; tag is used. In this case, sub-cues will be enter the waiting state before the parent's actions are performed.{{/info}}
88 +{{note body="There can be a delay between the activation and performing the actions if the &lt;delay&gt; tag is used. In this case, sub-cues will be enter the waiting state before the parent's actions are performed.<br />"/}}
90 90  
91 91  This is how a cue node looks like:
92 92  
... ... @@ -110,7 +110,7 @@
110 110  
111 111  **Non-event conditions** are checked either once or repeatedly in a fixed interval. They may be based on simple values or ranges, such as a particular in-game time having been reached or the player having a certain amount of money. They may also be based on more complex player information, such as what ships they own, whether the player is in a particular area or near a particular object.
112 112  
113 -**Event conditions** are triggered when the corresponding event happens, such as the event that a particular object has been targeted, attacked or destroyed. All event nodes have the prefix ΓÇ£event_ΓÇ¥ so you can easily determine a condition type. After an event condition you can specify one or more non-event conditions, which will be checked additionally whenever the event happens. If a condition uses an event, it must be in the first sub-node of the <conditions> node. It is even possible to define multiple alternative events that should activate the cue. The first sub-node should be <check_any> in this case, so only one of its sub-conditions has to be met.
112 +**Event conditions** are triggered when the corresponding event happens, such as the event that a particular object has been targeted, attacked or destroyed. All event nodes have the prefix event_ so you can easily determine a condition type. After an event condition you can specify one or more non-event conditions, which will be checked additionally whenever the event happens. If a condition uses an event, it must be in the first sub-node of the <conditions> node. It is even possible to define multiple alternative events that should activate the cue. The first sub-node should be <check_any> in this case, so only one of its sub-conditions has to be met.
114 114  
115 115  Example for an event condition:
116 116  
... ... @@ -150,10 +150,9 @@
150 150  
151 151  If a cue has a <conditions> node without any event, it must have one of the attributes //**onfail**// or //**checkinterval**//.
152 152  
153 -* Use //onfail// if the conditions should be checked only once. The possible attribute values are ΓÇ£//cancel//ΓÇ¥ and ΓÇ£//complete//ΓÇ¥. If the conditions are met, the cue will activate and perform the cue actions. Otherwise it's a failure and the cue will be cancelled or completed, based on the onfail attribute. Typically //onfail="cancel"// is used to prevent any further action. //onfail="complete"// can be used to continue with the sub-cues even in case of failure (but skipping the current cue actions).\\
152 +* Use //onfail// if the conditions should be checked only once. The possible attribute values are //cancel// and //complete//. If the conditions are met, the cue will activate and perform the cue actions. Otherwise it's a failure and the cue will be cancelled or completed, based on the onfail attribute. Typically //onfail="cancel"// is used to prevent any further action. //onfail="complete"// can be used to continue with the sub-cues even in case of failure (but skipping the current cue actions).
154 154  
155 155  
156 -
157 157  * With //checkinterval//, you can specify a constant time interval between condition checks. The conditions will be checked regularly forever until they are met, unless the cueΓÇÖs state is changed explicitly by an external event.
158 158  
159 159  Additionally, you can use the attribute **checktime** to set the time of the first condition check (also possible in combination with //onfail//). The //checktime// can be an expression with variables and is evaluated when the cue is enabled (when the condition checks would normally start ΓÇô for root cues that happens at game start, otherwise after the parent cue becomes active).
... ... @@ -182,7 +182,7 @@
182 182  
183 183  
184 184  
185 -{{info}}Reminder: When using an XSD-capable editor, it's a great help, but you cannot rely on that alone to verify correctness. Please also check the documentation and look for errors in the game debug output. Concretely, the schema cannot tell whether the above cue attributes are used correctly.{{/info}}
183 +{{note body="Reminder: When using an XSD-capable editor, it's a great help, but you cannot rely on that alone to verify correctness. Please also check the documentation and look for errors in the game debug output. Concretely, the schema cannot tell whether the above cue attributes are used correctly."/}}
186 186  
187 187  == Actions ==
188 188  
... ... @@ -216,7 +216,7 @@
216 216  
217 217  
218 218  
219 -{{info}}Messages printed with &lt;debug_text&gt; are usually only visible when the ΓÇ£scriptsΓÇ¥ debug filter is enabled, see [[NULL|Script debug output]].{{/info}}
217 +{{note body="Messages printed with &lt;debug_text&gt; are usually only visible when the scripts debug filter is enabled, see [[NULL|Script debug output]]."/}}
220 220  
221 221  
222 222  
... ... @@ -232,7 +232,7 @@
232 232  
233 233  Libraries are cues which are not created directly but only serve as templates for other cues. This allows for modularisation, so you can re-use library cues in many different missions.
234 234  
235 -{{info}}The syntax of libraries is considerably different from the syntax in the MD of X3TC.{{/info}}
233 +{{note body="<span style=~"color: rgb(0,0,0);~">The syntax of libraries is considerably different from the syntax in the MD of X3TC."/}}
236 236  
237 237  
238 238  
... ... @@ -286,10 +286,11 @@
286 286  {{/code}}
287 287  
288 288  
289 -{{warning}}These examples are definitely <u>not</u> examples of good scripting style.{{/warning}}
290 290  
288 +{{warning body="These examples are definitely <u>not</u> examples of good scripting style."/}}
291 291  
292 292  
291 +
293 293  So when writing the library, you donΓÇÖt have to worry about name confusion, just use the names of cues in your library and it will work as expected when the library is used. Names of cues that do not belong to the library will not be available in expressions (see Foo in the example above), however, names of other libraries in the file are available when referencing them in the ref attribute.
294 294  
295 295  Notes:
... ... @@ -296,7 +296,7 @@
296 296  
297 297  * It is //not// possible to directly call a cue which is 'inside' the library from 'outside' of the library, but it is possible to signal the library ref itself (possibly with parameters) and have a sub-cue inside the library listen to the signal on the library ref (possibly checking the parameters).
298 298  * You //can// access variables in the library root but generally this should be avoided in favor of parameterizing the library!
299 -** there are some cases where you do want to access these variables directly, for example for maintaining savegame compatibility when patching.(% id="library-parameters" %)
298 +** there are some cases where you do want to access these variables directly, for example for maintaining savegame compatibility when patching.
300 300  
301 301  == Library Parameters ==
302 302  
... ... @@ -341,8 +341,8 @@
341 341  
342 342  = Instantiation =
343 343  
344 -One of the possible cue attributes is //**instantiate**//. If you set it to true, this changes what happens when a cue's conditions are met. Normally, if a cue is (% style="color: rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration: underline;" %)not instantiated, the cue's actions are run (taking a delay node into account) and the cue is marked as completed. But with **instantiate'//, a// **copy of the cue** (and all its sub-cues) is made when the conditions are met, and it is this copy in which the actions are performed and it is the copy whose status is set to complete when they are finished - this means that the original cue (the so-called **static cue**) remains in the //waiting// state, and if the conditions are met again then the whole thing happens all over again.**
345 -\\An instantiating cue should only be used with conditions that are only going to be met once (or a fairly limited number of times), or with conditions that include an event condition. Instantiation should (% style="color: rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration: underline;" %)not be used in a cue which, say, just depends on the game time being greater than a specific value as this will result in a copy of the cue being made after each check interval, which could increase memory usage a lot. The most common use of an instantiated cue is in responding to events such as the player ship changing sector, to react every time that event happens.
343 +One of the possible cue attributes is //**instantiate**//. If you set it to true, this changes what happens when a cue's conditions are met. Normally, if a cue is (% style="color:#000000; text-decoration:underline" %)not instantiated, the cue's actions are run (taking a delay node into account) and the cue is marked as completed. But with **instantiate'//, a// **copy of the cue** (and all its sub-cues) is made when the conditions are met, and it is this copy in which the actions are performed and it is the copy whose status is set to complete when they are finished - this means that the original cue (the so-called **static cue**) remains in the //waiting// state, and if the conditions are met again then the whole thing happens all over again.**
344 +\\An instantiating cue should only be used with conditions that are only going to be met once (or a fairly limited number of times), or with conditions that include an event condition. Instantiation should not be used in a cue which, say, just depends on the game time being greater than a specific value as this will result in a copy of the cue being made after each check interval, which could increase memory usage a lot. The most common use of an instantiated cue is in responding to events such as the player ship changing sector, to react every time that event happens.
346 346  \\Instances that are created via //instantiate// are called **instantiated cues**. But sub-cues of instances are also instances (**sub-instances**) - they are created when they enter the waiting state. An instance is removed again (thereby freeing its memory) when it is complete or cancelled, and when all its instance sub-cues have been removed before. The simplest case is an instantiating cue with no sub-cues: The instance is created, the actions are performed, and the instance is removed immediately on completion. A pitfall could be an instance with a sub-cue that is forever in the waiting state (e.g. waiting for an event from an already destroyed object). It can never be removed, so you should clean up such a cue yourself, e.g. by cancelling it explicitly.
347 347  
348 348  == Cleaning up instances explicitly ==
... ... @@ -349,25 +349,25 @@
349 349  
350 350  Cancelling a cue with **<cancel_cue>** also cancels all its sub-cues, and cancelling a static cue stops it from instantiating more cues - but it does not cancel its instances. Resetting a cue with **<reset_cue>** resets both sub-cues and instantiated cues, but has the (desired) side effect that condition checks will start again if the parent cueΓÇÖs state allows it. Even a sub-instance that has been reset can return to the //waiting// state. Resetting an instantiated cue will stop it forever, because it is not supposed to be in the //waiting// state (only its static cue is). Resetting will also induce the clean-up reliably, but keep in mind that this is not the case for instance sub-cues.
351 351  
352 -{{info body="&lt;cancel_cue&gt; and &lt;reset_cue&gt; only take effect after all remaining actions of the current cue are performed. So you can even safely cancel the cue that you are currently in (keyword ΓÇ£'''this'''ΓÇ¥) or any ancestor cue, and still perform more actions afterwards."/}}
351 +{{note body="&lt;cancel_cue&gt; and &lt;reset_cue&gt; only take effect after all remaining actions of the current cue are performed. So you can even safely cancel the cue that you are currently in (keyword '''this''') or any ancestor cue, and still perform more actions afterwards."/}}
353 353  
354 354  == Access to instances ==
355 355  
356 356  
357 357  
358 -{{info}}This sub-section requires basic knowledge of [[NULL|script expressions]].{{/info}}
357 +{{note body="This sub-section requires basic knowledge of [[NULL|script expressions]]."/}}
359 359  
360 360  
361 361  
362 362  In case of instances with sub-instances, you will often want to access a related instance from the current one. Like in the non-instance case, you can simply write the cue name in an expression to reference that cue. However, you should be aware of the pitfalls that are accompanied by this.
363 363  
364 -When you use a cue name from the same script in an expression, it will always be resolved to some cue - usually a static cue, even if it is still in the disabled state, but it can also be an instance, if it is ΓÇ£relatedΓÇ¥ to the current one.
363 +When you use a cue name from the same script in an expression, it will always be resolved to some cue - usually a static cue, even if it is still in the disabled state, but it can also be an instance, if it is related to the current one.
365 365  
366 366  Related means that this cue and the referenced cue have a common ancestor instance, and the referenced cue is a direct (non-instantiated) descendant of that common ancestor.
367 367  
368 368  Example chart:
369 369  
370 -[[~[~[image:ARCHIVE_XRWIKI_Modding_support_Mission_Director_GuideMission_Director_Guide_-_Instantiation.png~|~|width="800px"~]~]>>attach:ARCHIVE_XRWIKI_Modding_support_Mission_Director_GuideMission_Director_Guide_-_Instantiation.png]]\\
369 +[[~[~[image:ARCHIVE_XRWIKI_Modding_support_Mission_Director_GuideMission_Director_Guide_-_Instantiation.png~|~|width="800px"~]~]>>attach:ARCHIVE_XRWIKI_Modding_support_Mission_Director_GuideMission_Director_Guide_-_Instantiation.png]]
371 371  
372 372  This chart represents a script of 5 cues: Foo, Bar, SubBar, Baz and SubBaz. Continuous arrows denote parent-child relationship. Foo and Baz are instantiating cues (highlighted with red border). The static cues always exist, although static children of instantiating cues can never become active. Instances only exist as long as they are needed.
373 373  
... ... @@ -374,11 +374,11 @@
374 374  Example situations:
375 375  
376 376  * In the static tree: Cue names in expressions are always resolved to the static cues.
377 -* In the inst-2 tree: ΓÇ£SubBarΓÇ¥ in an expression will be resolved to SubBar (inst 2).
378 -* In the inst-1 tree: ΓÇ£SubBarΓÇ¥ in an expression will be resolved to SubBar (static) (!) because the SubBar child of Bar (inst 1) does not exist yet, or not any more.
379 -* In the inst-2a tree: ΓÇ£SubBazΓÇ¥ in an expression will be resolved to SubBaz (inst 2a)
380 -* In the inst-2a tree: ΓÇ£BarΓÇ¥ in an expression will be resolved to Bar (inst 2) because Foo (inst 2) is a common ancestor.
381 -* In the inst-2 tree: ΓÇ£SubBazΓÇ¥ in an expression will be resolved to SubBaz (static) (!) because SubBaz (inst 2a) is **not** a direct descendant of the common ancestor Foo (inst 2), instead Baz (inst 2a) has been instantiated.
376 +* In the inst-2 tree: SubBar in an expression will be resolved to SubBar (inst 2).
377 +* In the inst-1 tree: SubBar in an expression will be resolved to SubBar (static) (!) because the SubBar child of Bar (inst 1) does not exist yet, or not any more.
378 +* In the inst-2a tree: SubBaz in an expression will be resolved to SubBaz (inst 2a)
379 +* In the inst-2a tree: Bar in an expression will be resolved to Bar (inst 2) because Foo (inst 2) is a common ancestor.
380 +* In the inst-2 tree: SubBaz in an expression will be resolved to SubBaz (static) (!) because SubBaz (inst 2a) is **not** a direct descendant of the common ancestor Foo (inst 2), instead Baz (inst 2a) has been instantiated.
382 382  
383 383  In expressions, you can use the cue property **static** to access the static cue that instantiated a cue. This does not work for sub-cues of other cues, and the result is not necessarily a real static cue! In the example above, it would only work for cues with a dotted arrow pointing at them, and is resolved to the source of the arrow. In other cases the result is null.
384 384  
... ... @@ -392,11 +392,11 @@
392 392  
393 393  Some additional common pitfalls with respect to instantiation are listed here. There may be more.
394 394  
395 -* **Conditions with results:** If the instantiating cue has conditions with results, those results are stored in variables - but in the variables of the static cue, not of the instance! So in the <actions> you have to access the variables via the **static **keyword:\\
394 +* **Conditions with results:** If the instantiating cue has conditions with results, those results are stored in variables - but in the variables of the static cue, not of the instance! So in the <actions> you have to access the variables via the **static **keyword:
396 396  
397 -{{code}}&lt;debug_text text=&quot;static.$foo&quot;/&gt;{{/code}}(% style="color: rgb(0,0,255);text-decoration: none;" %)
396 +(% style="color:#0000ff; text-decoration:none" %){{code}}&lt;debug_text text=&quot;static.$foo&quot;/&gt;{{/code}}
398 398  \\It may even be necessary to copy the variables over to the instance because the static variables can be overwritten by the next condition check:
399 -\\{{code}}&lt;set_value name=&quot;$foo&quot; exact=&quot;static.$foo&quot;/&gt;{{/code}}
398 +\\{{code}}&lt;set_value name=&quot;$foo&quot; exact=&quot;static.$foo&quot;/&gt;{{/code}}
400 400  
401 401  * **Resetting completed/cancelled instances:** As explained above, sub-instances are only created when needed (when going to the //waiting// state) and are destroyed when they are not needed any more (when they are completed or cancelled, including all sub-cues). There are cases in which you want to access cues that donΓÇÖt exist any more - it simply doesnΓÇÖt work. In some cases you are safe: You can be sure that all your ancestors exist, and instantiating cues wonΓÇÖt be removed until they are cancelled. In some other cases you simply donΓÇÖt know and have to check if the instance is already (or still) there.
402 402  * **Lifetime of instances:** Do not make assumptions about when an instance is removed! Just looking at it in the Debug Manager keeps it alive for the time being. So, sometimes you could still have a completed instance that wouldnΓÇÖt exist under other circumstances.
... ... @@ -408,15 +408,14 @@
408 408  * {{code}}0{{/code}} (integer number)
409 409  * {{code}}0772{{/code}} (leading 0 means octal integer number)
410 410  * {{code}}3.14159{{/code}} (floating point number)
411 -* {{code}}5e12{{/code}} (float in exponent notation, ΓÇ£times ten to the power ofΓÇ¥)
410 +* {{code}}5e12{{/code}} (float in exponent notation, times ten to the power of)
412 412  * {{code}}0xCAFE{{/code}} (hexadecimal integer number)
413 413  
414 414  
414 +{{note body="Since octal numbers are hardly ever used (usually unknowingly), the parser is will produce a warning if an octal number is encountered."/}}
415 415  
416 -{{info}}Since octal numbers are hardly ever used (usually unknowingly), the parser is will produce a warning if an octal number is encountered."{{info}}
417 417  
418 418  
419 -
420 420  You can write string literals by putting the string in single quotes:
421 421  
422 422  * {{code}}'Hello world'{{/code}}
... ... @@ -424,12 +424,11 @@
424 424  * {{code}}'String with a line break\n'{{/code}}
425 425  
426 426  
425 +{{note body="Since expressions are written in XML attribute values, you have to use the single quotes inside the double quotes for the actual attribute value. To write characters like '''&lt; &gt; &quot; &amp;''' in an expression string (or anywhere else in an XML attribute value), youΓÇÖll have to escape them as '''&amp;lt; &amp;gt; &amp;quot; &amp;amp;''' respectively. The backslash '''\''' can be used in strings for escape characters like in C/C++. Most important are '''\'''' for a single quote as part of the string, and '''\\''' for the backslash itself."/}}
427 427  
428 -{{info}}Since expressions are written in XML attribute values, you have to use the single quotes inside the double quotes for the actual attribute value. To write characters like '''&lt; &gt; &quot; &amp;''' in an expression string (or anywhere else in an XML attribute value), youΓÇÖll have to escape them as '''&amp;lt; &amp;gt; &amp;quot; &amp;amp;''' respectively. The backslash '''\''' can be used in strings for escape characters like in C/C++. Most important are '''\'''' for a single quote as part of the string, and '''\\''' for the backslash itself.{{/info}}
429 -
430 430  == Numeric data types and suffixes ==
431 431  
432 -Numbers can have a suffix that determines their numeric type. There are also numerical data types like ΓÇ£moneyΓÇ¥ or ΓÇ£timeΓÇ¥ which can only be expressed by using an appropriate unit suffix:
429 +Numbers can have a suffix that determines their numeric type. There are also numerical data types like money or time which can only be expressed by using an appropriate unit suffix:
433 433  
434 434  * {{code}}5000000000L{{/code}} (large integer)
435 435  * {{code}}1f{{/code}} (floating point number, same as 1.0, just 1 would be an integer)
... ... @@ -477,11 +477,11 @@
477 477  \\24h|Time in milliseconds, seconds, minutes, or hours, respectively. A time value is always stored in seconds.
478 478  )))
479 479  
480 -{{info}}All unit data types are floating point types, except for money, which is an integer data type.{{/info}}
477 +{{note body="All unit data types are floating point types, except for money, which is an integer data type."/}}
481 481  
482 482  == Operators ==
483 483  
484 -You can build expressions by combining sub-expressions with operators. For Boolean operations, expressions are considered ΓÇ£falseΓÇ¥ if they are equal to zero, ΓÇ£trueΓÇ¥ otherwise. The following operators, delimiters, and constants are supported
481 +You can build expressions by combining sub-expressions with operators. For Boolean operations, expressions are considered false if they are equal to zero, true otherwise. The following operators, delimiters, and constants are supported
485 485  
486 486  (% style="margin-left: 0.0px;" %)
487 487  (((
... ... @@ -551,7 +551,7 @@
551 551  {{code}}1 ge 3{{/code}}
552 552  \\{{code}}1 &amp;gt;= 3{{/code}}|{{code}}false{{/code}}|Greater than or equal to
553 553  |(((
554 -= =
551 += =
555 555  )))|binary|{{code}}1 + 1 == 2.0{{/code}}|{{code}}true{{/code}}|Equal to
556 556  |~!=|binary|{{code}}1 + 1 != 2.0{{/code}}|{{code}}false{{/code}}|Not equal to
557 557  |and|binary|{{code}}true and false{{/code}}|{{code}}false{{/code}}|Logical AND (short-circuit semantics)
... ... @@ -563,9 +563,8 @@
563 563  \\{{code}}if 1 == 2 then 'F' else 'T'{{/code}}|
564 564  {{code}}null{{/code}}
565 565  \\{{code}}'T'{{/code}}|Conditional operator ("inline if")
563 +)))
566 566  
567 -)))(% id="operator-precedence-rules" %)
568 -(%%)
569 569  
570 570  === Operator precedence rules ===
571 571  
... ... @@ -581,13 +581,12 @@
581 581  * or
582 582  * if/then/else (lowest precedence)
583 583  
584 -(% id="type-conversion" %)
585 585  
586 586  === Type conversion ===
587 587  
588 588  When a binary arithmetic operator is used on numbers of different types, they will be converted to a suitable output type. The resulting type depends on whether a unit data type is involved (types that are not plain integers or floats). The following cases may occur:
589 589  
590 -* Null and something else: The null value will be interpreted as ΓÇ£0ΓÇ¥ of the other type.
585 +* Null and something else: The null value will be interpreted as 0 of the other type.
591 591  * Two non-unit integers: The result will be an integer of the largest involved type.
592 592  * Two non-unit numbers, not all integers: The result will be the largest involved float type.
593 593  * Non-unit and unit: The result will be the unit type.
... ... @@ -597,21 +597,20 @@
597 597  
598 598  There is a way to convert a number into a different type manually: You append the corresponding suffix to a sub-expression in parentheses, like this:
599 599  
600 -* {{code}}(1 + 1)f{{/code}} {{code}}2f{{/code}} {{code}}2.0{{/code}}
601 -* {{code}}(1h) m / (180deg) i{{/code}} {{code}}(3600s) m / (3.14rad) i{{/code}} {{code}}3600m / 3{{/code}} {{code}}1200m{{/code}}
595 +* {{code}}(1 + 1)f{{/code}} ⟹ {{code}}2f{{/code}} ⟹ {{code}}2.0{{/code}}
596 +* {{code}}(1h) m / (180deg) i{{/code}} ⟹ {{code}}(3600s) m / (3.14rad) i{{/code}} ⟹ {{code}}3600m / 3{{/code}} ⟹ {{code}}1200m{{/code}}
602 602  
603 -When converting to a non-default unit type, this means you interpret the number as in the given units: ΓÇ£{{code}}(1km + 500m)h{{/code}}ΓÇ¥ means that you interpret 1500m as 1500 hours, so the resulting value will be 1500x3600 seconds. (As stated above, the default unit for a length is metres.)
598 +When converting to a non-default unit type, this means you interpret the number as in the given units: {{code}}(1km + 500m)h{{/code}} means that you interpret 1500m as 1500 hours, so the resulting value will be 1500x3600 seconds. (As stated above, the default unit for a length is metres.)
604 604  
605 605  The division operation will be an integer division (rounding towards zero) if both operands are integers (see the example in the table above). So if you want to get a floating point result, you have to make sure that at least one of the operands is a floating point type.
606 606  
607 607  Every data type can be combined with a string with the + operator, and will be converted to a string representation. That way you can also concatenate strings and numbers:
608 608  
609 -* {{code}}'One plus one is equal to ' + (1+1) + '.'{{/code}} {{code}}'One plus one is equal to 2.'{{/code}}
610 -* {{code}}'One plus one is not equal to ' + 1 + 1 + '.'{{/code}} {{code}}'One plus one is not equal to 11.'{{/code}}
604 +* {{code}}'One plus one is equal to ' + (1+1) + '.'{{/code}} ⟹ {{code}}'One plus one is equal to 2.'{{/code}}
605 +* {{code}}'One plus one is not equal to ' + 1 + 1 + '.'{{/code}} ⟹ {{code}}'One plus one is not equal to 11.'{{/code}}
611 611  
612 612  As you can see, operators of the same precedence (+ in this case) are always evaluated from left to right.
613 613  
614 -(% id="boolean-operators" %)
615 615  
616 616  === Boolean operators ===
617 617  
... ... @@ -618,20 +618,16 @@
618 618  Some additional notes on Boolean operators (such as and, or, not, ==):
619 619  
620 620  * Of course a Boolean operation always results in true or false (integer 1 or 0).
621 -* Values of any type can be used as Boolean operands, e.g. for ΓÇ£andΓÇ¥. They will be interpreted as ΓÇ£trueΓÇ¥ if they are **non-zero** or **non-numeric**.
615 +* Values of any type can be used as Boolean operands, e.g. for and. They will be interpreted as true if they are **non-zero** or **non-numeric**.
622 622  * != and == can be used with any data types, even non-numeric ones. When comparing two numeric values, they are converted using the rules above. Values of non-numeric types are never equal to null, or to any other numbers.
623 -* ΓÇ£andΓÇ¥ and ΓÇ£orΓÇ¥ use short-circuit semantics: The right side of the operation can be skipped if the left side already determines the outcome of the operation
624 -** Example:{{code}} false and $foo{{/code}} {{code}}false{{/code}} (the value of $foo is not checked at all)
617 +* and and or use short-circuit semantics: The right side of the operation can be skipped if the left side already determines the outcome of the operation
618 +** Example:{{code}} false and $foo{{/code}} ⟹ {{code}}false{{/code}} (the value of $foo is not checked at all)
625 625  * Unlike != and ==, the comparison operators <, <=, >, >= are only supported **for numeric values**, **difficulty levels**, and **attention levels**. Comparing other non-numeric values will result in an error and an undefined result.
626 626  * <, <=, >, >= cannot be used in XML directly, so lt, le, gt, ge are provided as alternatives. In some cases you wonΓÇÖt have to use them, though - using [[range checks>>MediaWiki.NULL]] with additional XML attributes can be more readable.
627 627  
628 628  
623 +== Strings and formatting ==
629 629  
630 -(% id="categorybroken_macroanchorstrings-and-formatting" %)== Strings and formatting==
631 -(% id="categorybroken_macroanchorstrings-and-formatting" %)
632 -
633 -{{{==}}}
634 -
635 635  You can concatenate string literals using the + operator, but there is also a printf-like formatting syntax, which is easier to use than concatenating lots of small pieces:
636 636  
637 637  * {{code}}'The %1 %2 %3 jumps over the %5 %4'.['quick', 'brown', 'fox', 'dog', 'lazy']{{/code}}
... ... @@ -645,82 +645,75 @@
645 645  \\**[New as of X Rebirth 4.0]**
646 646  \\ With the formatting syntax above, it is even possible to control how the parameter is formatted, using modifiers between "%" and the parameter specifier ("s" or the parameter number):
647 647  
648 -* {{code}}'%,s'.[12345678]{{/code}} {{code}}'12,345,678'{{/code}} (the "," modifier shows a number with thousands separators, correctly localised)
649 -* {{code}}'%.3s'.[123.4]{{/code}} {{code}}'123.400'{{/code}} (show 3 fractional digits, rounding half away from zero - decimal point correctly localised)
650 -* {{code}}'%,.1s'.[12345.67]'{{/code}} {{code}}'12,345.7'{{/code}} (combination of the above)
638 +* {{code}}'%,s'.[12345678]{{/code}} ⟹ {{code}}'12,345,678'{{/code}} (the "," modifier shows a number with thousands separators, correctly localised)
639 +* {{code}}'%.3s'.[123.4]{{/code}} ⟹ {{code}}'123.400'{{/code}} (show 3 fractional digits, rounding half away from zero - decimal point correctly localised)
640 +* {{code}}'%,.1s'.[12345.67]'{{/code}} ⟹ {{code}}'12,345.7'{{/code}} (combination of the above)
651 651  
652 652  Additional remarks:
653 653  
654 654  * The "," and "." formatting modifiers only apply to numbers. They are ignored if used on values of other types.
655 -*  If "," is used without "." then any fractional digits are discarded.
645 +* If "," is used without "." then any fractional digits are discarded.
656 656  * "." must be followed by a single digit (0-9). In case of ".0" any fractional digits are discarded (rounding towards zero, not half away from zero).
657 657  
658 658  
649 +{{note body="There are also special methods to [[NULL|format money values and time values]] using the &quot;formatted&quot; property."/}}
659 659  
660 -{{info body="There are also special methods to [[NULL|format money values and time values]] using the &quot;formatted&quot; property."/}}
661 661  
662 662  
663 663  
664 -\\
665 665  
666 -(% id="categorybroken_macroanchorlists" %)
667 667  
668 668  == Lists ==
669 669  
670 670  Another example for a non-numeric value is a list: It is an ordered collection of other arbitrary values (called array or vector in other languages). It can be constructed within an expression using the [[~[~] syntax>>MediaWiki.NULL]]. It may also be generated by special actions and conditions, and there are actions that can [[insert or remove values>>MediaWiki.NULL]].
671 671  
672 -A list can contain values of arbitrary data types, even mixed in the same list - so a list can actually contain other lists. However, some of the things that you can do with lists require that all contained elements are of a certain type. The contents of a list can be accessed via properties, see the section about [[value properties>>MediaWiki.NULL]]. Lists can be empty, these are written as ΓÇ£[ ]ΓÇ¥.
660 +A list can contain values of arbitrary data types, even mixed in the same list - so a list can actually contain other lists. However, some of the things that you can do with lists require that all contained elements are of a certain type. The contents of a list can be accessed via properties, see the section about [[value properties>>MediaWiki.NULL]]. Lists can be empty, these are written as [ ].
673 673  
674 -{{info}}When accessing a listΓÇÖs elements, the numbering is '''1-based''', so the first element has number 1. This is intuitive but different from 0-based numbering in most programming languages."{{/info}}
662 +{{note body="When accessing a listΓÇÖs elements, the numbering is '''1-based''', so the first element has number 1. This is intuitive but different from 0-based numbering in most programming languages."/}}
675 675  
676 676  
677 677  
678 678  Lists are stored in variables as references, so multiple variables can refer to the same **shared list**: If you change a shared list through a variable, e.g. by changing the value of an element, you change it as well for all other variables. However, the operators == and != can also be used on two distinct lists to compare their elements.
679 679  
680 -{{info}}When using &lt;remove_from_list/&gt;, be aware that all elements are checked and potentially removed during the action. Do not provide this action with a index lookup of that list as it may become out of bounds.
668 +{{note body="When using &lt;remove_from_list/&gt;, be aware that all elements are checked and potentially removed during the action. Do not provide this action with a index lookup of that list as it may become out of bounds.
681 681  
682 682  Bad usage attempting to remove the last element of the list: &lt;remove_from_list name=&quot;$List&quot; exact=&quot;$List.{$List.count}&quot;/&gt;
683 683  
684 -If you know the index, simply use &lt;remove_value/&gt; e.g. &lt;remove_value name=&quot;$List.{$List.count}&quot;/&gt;"{{/info}}
672 +If you know the index, simply use &lt;remove_value/&gt; e.g. &lt;remove_value name=&quot;$List.{$List.count}&quot;/&gt;"/}}
685 685  
686 686  
687 687  
688 -\\
689 689  
690 -(% id="categorybroken_macroanchortables" %)
691 691  
678 +
692 692  == Tables ==
693 693  
694 -Tables are associative arrays - they are like lists, but you can assign values to (almost) arbitrary keys, not just to index numbers. A table is constructed within an expression using the [[table~[~] syntax>>MediaWiki.NULL]]. See the section about [[value properties>>MediaWiki.NULL]] for how to access the contents of a table. [[Creating and removing entries>>MediaWiki.NULL]] works similarly to lists, but instead of inserting, you simply assign a value to a table key. If the key does not exist yet, it will be created.\\
681 +Tables are associative arrays - they are like lists, but you can assign values to (almost) arbitrary keys, not just to index numbers. A table is constructed within an expression using the [[table~[~] syntax>>MediaWiki.NULL]]. See the section about [[value properties>>MediaWiki.NULL]] for how to access the contents of a table. [[Creating and removing entries>>MediaWiki.NULL]] works similarly to lists, but instead of inserting, you simply assign a value to a table key. If the key does not exist yet, it will be created.
695 695  
696 696  Almost all values are allowed as table keys, but there are a few exceptions:
697 697  
698 698  * Strings must start with '$', like variables
699 699  * null cannot be used as table key (but the number 0 is valid)
700 -* Lists, tables, groups and buildplans cannot be used as table keys\\
687 +* Lists, tables, groups and buildplans cannot be used as table keys
701 701  
702 702  
703 -
704 704  These restrictions only apply to the keys, there are no restrictions for values that you assign to them. For example:
705 705  
706 -* {{code}}table[]{{/code}} creates an empty table
707 -* {{code}}table[{0} = null]{{/code}} creates a table that maps the number 0 to null\\
692 +* {{code}}table[]{{/code}} ⟹ creates an empty table
693 +* {{code}}table[{0} = null]{{/code}} ⟹ creates a table that maps the number 0 to null
708 708  
709 709  
696 +* {{code}}table[{'$foo'} = 'bar']{{/code}} ⟹ a table that maps the string '$foo' to the string 'bar'
697 +* {{code}}table[$foo = 'bar']{{/code}} ⟹ exactly the same, just a shorter notation for string keys
698 +* {{code}}table[foo = 'bar']{{/code}} ⟹ error, 'foo' does not start with a '$'
699 +* {{code}}table[{1} = [], {2} = table[]] {{/code}} ⟹ a table that maps 1 to an empty list and 2 to an empty table
710 710  
711 -* {{code}}table[{'$foo'} = 'bar']{{/code}} ⟹ a table that maps the string '$foo' to the string 'bar'
712 -* {{code}}table[$foo = 'bar']{{/code}} ⟹ exactly the same, just a shorter notation for string keys
713 -* {{code}}table[foo = 'bar']{{/code}} ⟹ error, 'foo' does not start with a '$'
714 -* {{code}}table[{1} = [], {2} = table[]] {{/code}} ⟹ a table that maps 1 to an empty list and 2 to an empty table\\
715 715  
702 +Just like lists, tables are stored as references, so it's possible that multiple variables reference the same table (see above).
703 +
716 716  
717 717  
718 -Just like lists, tables are stored as references, so it's possible that multiple variables reference the same table (see above).\\
719 719  
720 -\\
721 -
722 -(% id="categorybroken_macroanchorvalue-properties" %)
723 -
724 724  == Value properties ==
725 725  
726 726  Properties are a crucial concept in script expressions. In the previous sections you have seen mostly constant expressions, which are already evaluated when they are parsed at game start. For reading and writing variables and evaluating the gameΓÇÖs state, properties are used.
... ... @@ -729,42 +729,39 @@
729 729  
730 730  You can imagine properties as key/value pairs in an associative mapping: You pass the key, and you get the value as result. For example, the list [42, null, 'text'] has the following mapping:
731 731  
732 -* 1 42
733 -* 2 null
734 -* 3 'text'
735 -* 'count' 3
715 +* 1 ⟹ 42
716 +* 2 ⟹ null
717 +* 3 ⟹ 'text'
718 +* 'count' ⟹ 3
736 736  
737 737  As you can see, a property key can be a number or a string. Actually there is no restriction regarding the data type of the key.
738 738  
739 739  You can look up a property by appending a dot and the key in curly braces:
740 740  
741 -* {{code}}[100, 200, 300, 400].{1}{{/code}} 100 (reading the first element)
742 -* {{code}}[100, 200, ['Hello ', 'world']] .{3}.{2}{{/code}} 'world' (second element of the inner list, which is the third element of the outer list)
743 -* {{code}}[].{'count'}{{/code}} 0
744 -* {{code}}table[{21} = 42].{21}{{/code}} 42\\
724 +* {{code}}[100, 200, 300, 400].{1}{{/code}} ⟹ 100 (reading the first element)
725 +* {{code}}[100, 200, ['Hello ', 'world']] .{3}.{2}{{/code}} ⟹ 'world' (second element of the inner list, which is the third element of the outer list)
726 +* {{code}}[].{'count'}{{/code}} ⟹ 0
727 +* {{code}}table[{21} = 42].{21}{{/code}} ⟹ 42
745 745  
746 746  
730 +In most cases the property key is a fixed string, like name or class. You can write this like above:
747 747  
748 -In most cases the property key is a fixed string, like ΓÇ£nameΓÇ¥ or ΓÇ£classΓÇ¥. You can write this like above:
749 -
750 750  * {{code}}[42].{'count'}{{/code}}
751 751  * {{code}}$ship.{'name'}{{/code}}
752 -* {{code}}$ship.{'class'}{{/code}}
753 -* {{code}}table[$foo='bar'].{'$foo'}{{/code}}\\
734 +* {{code}}$ship.{'class'} {{/code}}
735 +* {{code}}table[$foo='bar'].{'$foo'}{{/code}}
754 754  
755 755  
756 -
757 757  But it is easier just to write the property key without braces, which is equivalent:
758 758  
759 759  * {{code}}[0].count{{/code}}
760 760  * {{code}}$ship.name{{/code}}
761 761  * {{code}}$ship.class{{/code}}
762 -* {{code}}table[$foo='bar'].$foo{{/code}}\\
743 +* {{code}}table[$foo='bar'].$foo{{/code}}
763 763  
764 764  
746 +(In this case, $ship is a variable. All variables start with a $, so they cannot be confused with keywords.)
765 765  
766 -(In this case, $ship is a variable. All variables start with a ΓÇ£$ΓÇ¥, so they cannot be confused with keywords.)
767 -
768 768  A list has even more properties:
769 769  
770 770  **random'** returns a randomly chosen element (which requires that the list is non-empty)
... ... @@ -771,19 +771,19 @@
771 771  
772 772  **min'** and '**max'** return the minimum or maximum (all elements have to be numeric)
773 773  
774 -* {{code}}[1, 6, 8].min{{/code}} 1
754 +* {{code}}[1, 6, 8].min{{/code}} ⟹ 1
775 775  
776 776  **average'** returns the average (but all element types have to be compatible)
777 777  
778 -* {{code}}[1, 6, 8].average{{/code}} 5
758 +* {{code}}[1, 6, 8].average{{/code}} ⟹ 5
779 779  
780 780  **indexof'** is followed by another property, and the index of the first occurence of that key in the list is returned, or 0 if itΓÇÖs not in the list
781 781  
782 -* {{code}}[1, 6, 8].indexof.{8}{{/code}} 3
762 +* {{code}}[1, 6, 8].indexof.{8}{{/code}} ⟹ 3
783 783  
784 784  **clone'** creates a shallow copy of the list (i.e. lists that are contained as elements in the list are not copied, only the reference to them)
785 785  
786 -* {{code}}[1, 6, 8].clone{{/code}} {{code}}[1, 6, 8]{{/code}}
766 +* {{code}}[1, 6, 8].clone{{/code}} ⟹ {{code}}[1, 6, 8]{{/code}}
787 787  
788 788  A table has different properties:
789 789  
... ... @@ -790,62 +790,54 @@
790 790  * '**clone'** creates a shallow copy of the table
791 791  * '**keys'** allows you to access data about the table's keys
792 792  
793 -However, 'keys' alone will not give you a result. 'keys' must be followed by another keyword to retrieve the desired information, for example:\\
773 +However, 'keys' alone will not give you a result. 'keys' must be followed by another keyword to retrieve the desired information, for example:
794 794  
795 795  
796 796  
797 -* {{code}}$table.keys.list{{/code}}: Yields a list of all keys in the table (reliably sorted by key if all keys are numeric)\\
777 +* {{code}}$table.keys.list{{/code}}: Yields a list of all keys in the table (reliably sorted by key if all keys are numeric)
798 798  
799 799  
800 -
801 801  * {{code}}$table.keys.sorted{{/code}}: Yields a list of all keys in the table, sorted by their associated values (which requires that all values are numeric)
802 802  * {{code}}$table.keys.random{{/code}}: A randomly chosen key (which requires that the table is non-empty)
803 803  
804 804  
784 +{{note body="The string formatting syntax that you have seen [[NULL|above]] is also based on the property system. You basically pass a list as property key to a string. Braces around the brackets are not required, so 'foo'.[...] is just a convenient alternative notation for 'foo'.{[...]}."/}}
805 805  
806 -{{info}}The string formatting syntax that you have seen [[NULL|above]] is also based on the property system. You basically pass a list as property key to a string. Braces around the brackets are not required, so 'foo'.[...] is just a convenient alternative notation for 'foo'.{[...]}.{{/info}}
807 807  
808 808  
788 +=== Lookup tests and suppressing errors ===
809 809  
810 -(% id="lookup-tests-and-suppressing-errors" %)=== Lookup tests and suppressing errors
790 +If you look up a property that does not exist, there will be an error, and the result will be null. To test whether a property exists, you can append a question mark ? to the lookup, which yields true or false:
811 811  
792 +* {{code}}$list.{5}{{/code}} ⟹ The fifth element of a list - however, if $list has less than 5 elements (and if it's also not a table with the key 5), there will be an error
793 +* {{code}}$list.{5}?{{/code}} ⟹ true if $list exists and has the property 5, false otherwise
794 +* {{code}}$table.$key?{{/code}} ⟹ Analogously, true if $table exists and has the string property '$key'
812 812  
813 -{{{===}}}
814 814  
815 -If you look up a property that does not exist, there will be an error, and the result will be null. To test whether a property exists, you can append a question mark ΓÇ£?ΓÇ¥ to the lookup, which yields true or false:
816 -
817 -* {{code}}$list.{5}{{/code}} ⟹ The fifth element of a list - however, if $list has less than 5 elements (and if it's also not a table with the key 5), there will be an error
818 -* {{code}}$list.{5}?{{/code}} ⟹ true if $list exists and has the property 5, false otherwise
819 -* {{code}}$table.$key?{{/code}} ⟹ Analogously, true if $table exists and has the string property '$key'\\
820 -
821 -
822 -
823 823  The question mark can even be applied to variables:
824 824  
825 -* {{code}}$list{{/code}} The value stored under the name $list, or an error if there is no such variable
826 -* {{code}}$list?{{/code}} true if the variable exists, false otherwise
799 +* {{code}}$list{{/code}} ⟹ The value stored under the name $list, or an error if there is no such variable
800 +* {{code}}$list?{{/code}} ⟹ true if the variable exists, false otherwise
827 827  
828 -To look up the value of a property although it may not exist, you can use the at-sign ΓÇ£@ΓÇ¥ as prefix:
802 +To look up the value of a property although it may not exist, you can use the at-sign @ as prefix:
829 829  
830 -* {{code}}@$list.{5}{{/code}} The result of the $list lookup if $list exists and has the property 5, otherwise null (without error message)
831 -* {{code}}@$list{{/code}} The list if this variable exists, null otherwise
832 -* {{code}}@$list.{5}.{1}{{/code}} The first element of the fifth element of $list, if it exists, null otherwise
804 +* {{code}}@$list.{5}{{/code}} ⟹ The result of the $list lookup if $list exists and has the property 5, otherwise null (without error message)
805 +* {{code}}@$list{{/code}} ⟹ The list if this variable exists, null otherwise
806 +* {{code}}@$list.{5}.{1}{{/code}} ⟹ The first element of the fifth element of $list, if it exists, null otherwise
833 833  
834 834  As you can see, an error is already prevented if any link in the property chain does not exist. But use the @ prefix with care, since error messages are really helpful for detecting problems in your scripts. The @ prefix only suppresses property-related error messages and does not change any in-game behaviour.
835 835  
836 -\\
837 837  
838 -(% id="static-lookups" %)
839 839  
840 840  === Static lookups ===
841 841  
842 -There are a few data types which are basically enumerations: They only consist of a set of named values, e.g. the ΓÇ£classΓÇ¥ data type, which is used for the component classes that exist in the game. For all these static enumeration classes there is a lookup value of the same name, from which you can get the named values as properties by their name. So for the type ΓÇ£classΓÇ¥, there is a value ΓÇ£classΓÇ¥ that can be used to access the classes.
814 +There are a few data types which are basically enumerations: They only consist of a set of named values, e.g. the class data type, which is used for the component classes that exist in the game. For all these static enumeration classes there is a lookup value of the same name, from which you can get the named values as properties by their name. So for the type class, there is a value class that can be used to access the classes.
843 843  
844 844  Here are a few enumeration classes and corresponding example lookup values:
845 845  
846 846  (% style="margin-left: 0.0px;" %)
847 847  (((
848 -\\
820 +
849 849  
850 850  
851 851  
... ... @@ -893,43 +893,39 @@
893 893  \\faction.argongovernment|Factions
894 894  )))
895 895  
896 -{{info}}With the ''typeof'' operator you can get the datatype of any expression and compare it with what you expect, for example:
868 +{{note body="[[Category:Broken_macro/anchor]]With the ''typeof'' operator you can get the datatype of any expression and compare it with what you expect, for example:
897 897  
898 898  <code>typeof $value == datatype.faction</code>
899 899  
900 900  However, you should not compare the type to datatype.string because there are strings that have different data types. To check for a string you should use the datatype's property &quot;'''isstring'''&quot; instead. For example, to check if the variable $value is a string, use the following term:
901 901  
902 -<code>(typeof $value).isstring</code>"{{/info}}
874 +<code>(typeof $value).isstring</code>"/}}
903 903  
904 -{{info}}There is also the datatype ΓÇ£tagΓÇ¥ with the lookup name ΓÇ£tagΓÇ¥ - however, this is not an enumeration type. Looking up a value by name never fails, you actually create a tag value for a given name if it does not exist. For example, if you have a typo, like ΓÇ£tag.misionΓÇ¥ instead of ΓÇ£tag.missionΓÇ¥, there wonΓÇÖt be an error because any name is valid for a tag, and the tag ΓÇ£misionΓÇ¥ is created on its first use."{{/info}}
876 +{{note body="There is also the datatype tag with the lookup name tag - however, this is not an enumeration type. Looking up a value by name never fails, you actually create a tag value for a given name if it does not exist. For example, if you have a typo, like tag.mision instead of tag.mission, there wonΓÇÖt be an error because any name is valid for a tag, and the tag mision is created on its first use."/}}
905 905  
906 -\\
907 907  
908 908  
909 909  
910 -(% id="player-properties" %)
911 911  
912 912  === Player properties ===
913 913  
914 -You can access many player-related game properties via the keyword ΓÇ£playerΓÇ¥:
884 +You can access many player-related game properties via the keyword player:
915 915  
916 916  * player.**name**: The playerΓÇÖs name
917 917  * player.**age**: The passed in-game time since game start
918 918  * player.**money**: The money in the playerΓÇÖs account
919 -* player.**ship**: The ship the player is currently on (not necessarily the player's ship), or null if the player is on a station\\
889 +* player.**ship**: The ship the player is currently on (not necessarily the player's ship), or null if the player is on a station
920 920  
921 921  
922 -
923 923  * player.**primaryship**: The player's own ship (but the player is not necessarily on board)
924 -* player.**entity**: The actual player object\\
893 +* player.**entity**: The actual player object
925 925  
926 926  
927 -
928 928  * player.**zone**, player.**sector**, player.**cluster**, player.**galaxy**: Location of the player entity
929 929  * player.**copilot**: The co-pilot NPC
930 930  
931 931  The game consists of objects of different classes (zones, ships, stations, NPCs). They have the common datatype "component", however, they have different properties, e.g. NPCs have the property "race", but ships don't.
932 -\\(% id="safe-properties" %)
900 +
933 933  
934 934  === Safe properties ===
935 935  
... ... @@ -942,27 +942,24 @@
942 942  * available
943 943  * isclass.(...)
944 944  
945 -These properties will not cause errors when used on ΓÇ£nullΓÇ¥ or on a destroyed object (which may still be accessible from scripts in some cases), and produce null or false as results, respectively. (The keyword ΓÇ£availableΓÇ¥ is used for trades, not for objects. Trades can also become invalid.) However, when using such a property on a different data type like a number, there will still be an error.
913 +These properties will not cause errors when used on null or on a destroyed object (which may still be accessible from scripts in some cases), and produce null or false as results, respectively. (The keyword available is used for trades, not for objects. Trades can also become invalid.) However, when using such a property on a different data type like a number, there will still be an error.
946 946  
947 -(% id="categorybroken_macroanchormoney-and-time-formatting" %)=== Money and time formatting
948 948  
916 +=== Money and time formatting ===
949 949  
950 -{{{===}}}
951 -
952 952  **[New as of X Rebirth 4.0]**
953 953  \\Numbers don't have any properties, except for money and time: They have a "**formatted**" property, which allows you to get a custom string representation with more advanced options than the [[generic formatting method>>MediaWiki.NULL]] for numbers.
954 954  
955 -* {{code}}$money.formatted.{'formatstring'}{{/code}}
956 -* {{code}}$money.formatted.default{{/code}} (using default format string '%s')\\
921 +* {{code}}$money.formatted.{'formatstring'} {{/code}}
922 +* {{code}}$money.formatted.default{{/code}} (using default format string '%s')
957 957  
958 958  
959 -
960 960  * {{code}}$time.formatted.{'formatstring'}{{/code}}
961 -* {{code}}$time.formatted.default{{/code}} (using default format string '%T')
926 +* {{code}}$time.formatted.default{{/code}} (using default format string '%T')
962 962  
963 963  In scripts, money is stored in cents, not Credits. The formatted representation always shows the value in Credits, including thousands separators.
964 964  
965 -When formatting the money value, any specifier (such as '%s') in the format string is replaced by the money value, so usually the format string only consists of this one specifier. The following modifiers can be used between '%' and the specifier character, to enable formatting options:\\
930 +When formatting the money value, any specifier (such as '%s') in the format string is replaced by the money value, so usually the format string only consists of this one specifier. The following modifiers can be used between '%' and the specifier character, to enable formatting options:
966 966  
967 967  
968 968  
... ... @@ -980,73 +980,66 @@
980 980  * %G: Credits (truncated) in Giga format
981 981  * %T: Credits (truncated) in Tera format
982 982  * %Cr: Localised "Cr" string
983 -* %%: A % sign\\
948 +* %%: A % sign
984 984  
985 985  
951 +Examples:
986 986  
987 -Examples:\\
988 988  
989 989  
955 +* {{code}}(1234Cr).formatted.{'%s'}{{/code}}⟹{{code}}'1,234'{{/code}}
956 +* {{code}}(1234Cr).formatted.default{{/code}}⟹{{code}}'1,234'{{/code}} (same as {'%s'})
957 +* {{code}}(1234Cr).formatted.{'%.s %Cr'}{{/code}}⟹{{code}}'1,234.00 Cr'{{/code}}
958 +* {{code}}(1234Cr).formatted.{'%1s'}{{/code}}⟹{{code}}'1 k'{{/code}} (rounding towards zero)
959 +* {{code}}(1234Cr).formatted.{'%cM'}{{/code}}⟹{{code}}'0 M'{{/code}}
990 990  
991 -* {{code}}(1234Cr).formatted.{'%s'}{{/code}}⟹{{code}}'1,234'{{/code}}
992 -* {{code}}(1234Cr).formatted.default{{/code}}⟹{{code}}'1,234'{{/code}} (same as {'%s'})
993 -* {{code}}(1234Cr).formatted.{'%.s %Cr'}{{/code}}⟹{{code}}'1,234.00 Cr'{{/code}}
994 -* {{code}}(1234Cr).formatted.{'%1s'}{{/code}}⟹{{code}}'1 k'{{/code}} (rounding towards zero)
995 -* {{code}}(1234Cr).formatted.{'%cM'}{{/code}}⟹{{code}}'0 M'{{/code}}
996 -
997 997  For documentation of time format strings, see the Lua function ConvertTimeString() in the [[MediaWiki.ARCHIVE.XRWIKIModding_supportUI_Modding_supportLua_function_overview]].
998 998  
999 999  Examples:
1000 1000  
1001 -* {{code}}(151s).formatted.{'%T'}{{/code}} {{code}}'00:02:31'{{/code}}
1002 -* {{code}}(151s).formatted.default{{/code}} {{code}}'00:02:31'{{/code}} (same as {'%T'})
1003 -* {{code}}(151s).formatted.{'%.3T'}{{/code}} {{code}}'00:02:31.000'{{/code}}
1004 -* {{code}}(151s).formatted.{'%h:%M'}{{/code}} {{code}}'0:02'{{/code}}
965 +* {{code}}(151s).formatted.{'%T'}{{/code}} ⟹ {{code}}'00:02:31'{{/code}}
966 +* {{code}}(151s).formatted.default{{/code}} ⟹ {{code}}'00:02:31'{{/code}} (same as {'%T'})
967 +* {{code}}(151s).formatted.{'%.3T'}{{/code}} ⟹ {{code}}'00:02:31.000'{{/code}}
968 +* {{code}}(151s).formatted.{'%h:%M'}{{/code}} ⟹ {{code}}'0:02'{{/code}}
1005 1005  
1006 -(% id="complete-property-documentation" %)
1007 1007  
1008 1008  === Complete property documentation ===
1009 1009  
1010 1010  To access the script property documentation that is included in the game, you can extract the required files from the game's catalog files using the [[X Catalog Tool>>url:https://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=363625]]. Extract the HTML file __scriptproperties.html__ in the game's root folder, and all files in the "libraries" sub-folder. For resolving text references in the browser automatically, also extract 0001-L044.xml in the "t" sub-folder.
1011 1011  
1012 -The raw documentation data is located in libraries/scriptproperties.xml, but it is recommended to open scriptproperties.html in a browser.\\
975 +The raw documentation data is located in libraries/scriptproperties.xml, but it is recommended to open scriptproperties.html in a browser.
1013 1013  
1014 1014  
1015 1015  
1016 -{{info}}scriptproperties.html has to load files from different folders, which modern browsers do not allow by default for security reasons. In order to open scriptproperties.html, the following is required:
979 +{{note body="scriptproperties.html has to load files from different folders, which modern browsers do not allow by default for security reasons. In order to open scriptproperties.html, the following is required:
1017 1017  
1018 1018  * Firefox: On the about:config page, the value of &quot;security.fileuri.strict_origin_policy&quot; has to be changed to &quot;false&quot;.
1019 -* Chrome: The Chrome launcher has to be started with the command-line parameter --allow-file-access-from-files{{/info}}
982 +* Chrome: The Chrome launcher has to be started with the command-line parameter --allow-file-access-from-files"/}}
1020 1020  
1021 1021  
1022 1022  
1023 -This provides you with a complete list of all supported ΓÇ£base keywordsΓÇ¥ and properties. To filter in this list, you can enter an expression in the text field:
986 +This provides you with a complete list of all supported base keywords and properties. To filter in this list, you can enter an expression in the text field:
1024 1024  
1025 1025  * Enter the beginning of a base keyword
1026 -* Enter $ followed by the data type you are looking for (e.g. ΓÇ£$shipΓÇ¥), as if it were a variable
1027 -* To see the properties of a base keyword or data type, enter a dot (ΓÇ£.ΓÇ¥)
989 +* Enter $ followed by the data type you are looking for (e.g. $ship), as if it were a variable
990 +* To see the properties of a base keyword or data type, enter a dot (.)
1028 1028  * After the dot, you can enter a property name
1029 -* You can also enter a dot (ΓÇ£.ΓÇ¥) as first character to search globally for a property
992 +* You can also enter a dot (.) as first character to search globally for a property
1030 1030  
1031 -\\
1032 1032  
1033 1033  
1034 1034  
1035 -{{info}}The documentation contains some data types that are no real script data types, but which are useful for documentation purposes. For example, ships and stations are both of datatype ΓÇ£componentΓÇ¥, but have different properties based on their component class.{{/info}}
997 +{{note body="The documentation contains some data types that are no real script data types, but which are useful for documentation purposes. For example, ships and stations are both of datatype component, but have different properties based on their component class."/}}
1036 1036  
1037 1037  
1038 1038  
1039 -\\
1040 1040  
1041 -(% id="md-refreshing-and-patching" %)
1042 1042  
1043 1043  = MD refreshing and patching =
1044 1044  
1045 -When a saved game is loaded, the saved MD state is restored, but also all MD files are reloaded and changes in them are applied to the MD state. This is called ΓÇ£refreshΓÇ¥. It is also possible to refresh the MD at run-time using the command ΓÇ£refreshmdΓÇ¥ on the in-game command line. This is a convenient way to update MD scripts while the game is already running.
1005 +When a saved game is loaded, the saved MD state is restored, but also all MD files are reloaded and changes in them are applied to the MD state. This is called refresh. It is also possible to refresh the MD at run-time using the command refreshmd on the in-game command line. This is a convenient way to update MD scripts while the game is already running.
1046 1046  
1047 -\\
1048 1048  
1049 -(% id="details-and-restrictions" %)
1050 1050  
1051 1051  == Details and restrictions ==
1052 1052  
... ... @@ -1067,86 +1067,91 @@
1067 1067  * Changing instantiate="false" to "true" turns the cue into "waiting" state if it was active or complete before.
1068 1068  * Changing instantiate="true" to "false" removes all instantiated cues and their descendants.
1069 1069  
1070 -\\
1071 1071  
1072 1072  
1073 1073  
1074 -{{warning}}Be aware that completed instances can be auto-deleted, and so added sub-cues will not become active in such a case.{{/warning}}
1031 +{{warning body="Be aware that completed instances can be auto-deleted, and so added sub-cues will not become active in such a case."/}}
1075 1075  
1076 -{{warning}}When adding a variable in a new MD script version and using that variable in multiple places, be aware that the variable doesn't exist yet in older savegames. You may have to check the existence of the variable before accessing it, or add some patch logic that initiailses the variable after loading the savegame, if necessary.{{/warning}}
1033 +{{warning body="When adding a variable in a new MD script version and using that variable in multiple places, be aware that the variable doesn't exist yet in older savegames. You may have to check the existence of the variable before accessing it, or add some patch logic that initiailses the variable after loading the savegame, if necessary."/}}
1077 1077  
1078 1078  
1079 1079  
1080 -\\
1081 1081  
1082 -(% id="patching" %)
1083 1083  
1084 1084  == Patching ==
1085 1085  
1086 1086  Cues can have **<patch>** elements with actions that will be performed when an old savegame is loaded. To control which savegames should be affected, you can add a //**version **//attribute to the <cue> node and a //**sinceversion**// attribute in the patch. When a cue is loaded from a savegame that has an older version than //sinceversion//, the <patch> actions will be performed immediately after loading.
1087 1087  
1088 -{{code}}&lt;cue [...] version=&quot;42&quot;&gt; &lt;conditions&gt; [...] &lt;/conditions&gt; &lt;actions&gt; [...] &lt;/actions&gt; &lt;patch sinceversion=&quot;42&quot;&gt;    [patch actions] &lt;/patch&gt;&lt;/cue&gt;{{/code}}
1043 +{{code}}
1044 +&lt;cue [...] version=&quot;42&quot;&gt; &lt;conditions&gt; [...] &lt;/conditions&gt; &lt;actions&gt; [...] &lt;/actions&gt; &lt;patch sinceversion=&quot;42&quot;&gt; [patch actions] &lt;/patch&gt;&lt;/cue&gt;
1045 +{{/code}}
1089 1089  
1090 -The patch actions are only performed if the cue is in a certain state, ΓÇ£completeΓÇ¥ by default. Use the //**state**// attribute to change this requirement. For more information, see the XML schema documentation of the <patch> element.
1047 +The patch actions are only performed if the cue is in a certain state, complete by default. Use the //**state**// attribute to change this requirement. For more information, see the XML schema documentation of the <patch> element.
1091 1091  
1092 1092  A sequence of multiple <patch> elements is possible. They will be performed in order of appearance, checking the //sinceversion// and //state// attributes in each case. Patches are also applied to all users of a library and to instances.
1093 1093  
1094 -{{info}}The &lt;patch&gt; elements will be ignored when refreshing the MD at run-time. They only affect loaded savegames."{{/info}}
1051 +{{note body="The &lt;patch&gt; elements will be ignored when refreshing the MD at run-time. They only affect loaded savegames."/}}
1095 1095  
1096 1096  
1097 1097  
1098 -\\
1099 1099  
1100 -(% id="common-attribute-groups" %)
1101 1101  
1102 1102  = Common attribute groups =
1103 1103  
1104 1104  There are many commonly used actions and conditions which share groups of attributes. The most important ones are explained here.
1105 1105  
1106 -\\
1107 1107  
1108 -(% id="categorybroken_macroanchorvalue-comparisons" %)
1109 1109  
1110 1110  == Value comparisons ==
1111 1111  
1112 1112  There are many conditions and conditional actions that require a value comparison, for example the condition <check_value>:
1113 1113  
1114 -{{code}}&lt;check_value value=&quot;$ware == ware.silicon and $amount != 0&quot;/&gt;{{/code}}
1067 +{{code}}
1068 +&lt;check_value value=&quot;$ware == ware.silicon and $amount != 0&quot;/&gt;
1069 +{{/code}}
1115 1115  
1116 1116  In the value attribute you specify a boolean expression, and if it is true (that is, not equal to zero), the condition is met. This is a special case: This condition and all other nodes that support a value comparison allows you to specify an upper limit, a lower limit, a number range, or a list of allowed values. Examples:
1117 1117  
1118 -{{code}}&lt;check_value value=&quot;FooCue.state&quot; exact=&quot;cuestate.complete&quot;/&gt;&lt;check_value value=&quot;$foo.count&quot; min=&quot;5&quot;/&gt;&lt;check_value value=&quot;$foo&quot; max=&quot;player.age + 1min&quot;/&gt;&lt;check_value value=&quot;player.money&quot; min=&quot;300Cr&quot; max=&quot;600Cr&quot;/&gt;&lt;check_value value=&quot;$method&quot; list=&quot;[killmethod.hitbymissile, killmethod.collected]&quot;/&gt;&lt;check_value value=&quot;$attention&quot; min=&quot;attention.visible&quot;/&gt;{{/code}}
1073 +{{code}}
1074 +&lt;check_value value=&quot;FooCue.state&quot; exact=&quot;cuestate.complete&quot;/&gt;&lt;check_value value=&quot;$foo.count&quot; min=&quot;5&quot;/&gt;&lt;check_value value=&quot;$foo&quot; max=&quot;player.age + 1min&quot;/&gt;&lt;check_value value=&quot;player.money&quot; min=&quot;300Cr&quot; max=&quot;600Cr&quot;/&gt;&lt;check_value value=&quot;$method&quot; list=&quot;[killmethod.hitbymissile, killmethod.collected]&quot;/&gt;&lt;check_value value=&quot;$attention&quot; min=&quot;attention.visible&quot;/&gt;
1075 +{{/code}}
1119 1119  
1120 -{{info}}Values of most enumeration types cannot be compared via ''min'' or ''max'' (also not via lt, gt, etc.). The only data types that can be used with ''min'' and ''max'' are numbers and the enumeration types ''level'' and ''attention'' (see Boolean operators). The ''exact'' attribute can be used with any type, and is equivalent to using the == operator."{{/info}}
1077 +{{note body="Values of most enumeration types cannot be compared via ''min'' or ''max'' (also not via lt, gt, etc.). The only data types that can be used with ''min'' and ''max'' are numbers and the enumeration types ''level'' and ''attention'' (see Boolean operators). The ''exact'' attribute can be used with any type, and is equivalent to using the == operator."/}}
1121 1121  
1122 1122  
1123 1123  
1124 -\\
1125 1125  
1126 -(% id="categorybroken_macroanchorrandom-ranges" %)
1127 1127  
1128 1128  == Random ranges ==
1129 1129  
1130 1130  If an action requires a value, e.g. when you set a variable to a value, you can have some randomisation. To specify an exact value, e.g. in <set_value>, you can write this:
1131 1131  
1132 -{{code}}&lt;set_value name=&quot;$race&quot; exact=&quot;race.teladi&quot;/&gt;{{/code}}
1087 +{{code}}
1088 +&lt;set_value name=&quot;$race&quot; exact=&quot;race.teladi&quot;/&gt;
1089 +{{/code}}
1133 1133  
1134 1134  To select a random element from a list, this syntax can be used:
1135 1135  
1136 -{{code}}&lt;set_value name=&quot;$prime&quot; list=&quot;[2, 3, 5, 7, 11]&quot;/&gt;{{/code}}
1093 +{{code}}
1094 +&lt;set_value name=&quot;$prime&quot; list=&quot;[2, 3, 5, 7, 11]&quot;/&gt;
1095 +{{/code}}
1137 1137  
1138 1138  To get a random number within a given range, you can use min/max:
1139 1139  
1140 -{{code}}&lt;set_value name=&quot;$foo&quot; min=&quot;-20&quot; max=&quot;20&quot;/&gt;&lt;set_value name=&quot;$timeout&quot; max=&quot;20s&quot;/&gt;{{/code}}
1099 +{{code}}
1100 +&lt;set_value name=&quot;$foo&quot; min=&quot;-20&quot; max=&quot;20&quot;/&gt;&lt;set_value name=&quot;$timeout&quot; max=&quot;20s&quot;/&gt;
1101 +{{/code}}
1141 1141  
1142 1142  min and max have to be compatible number types. Enumeration types are not allowed, not even level and attention. The min attribute is optional and defaults to 0 (of the number type used in max).
1143 1143  
1144 -You can select one of 5 different probability distribution profiles for the random range, ΓÇ£flatΓÇ¥ being the default (all values in the range are equally likely). If you select another profile, e.g. ΓÇ£increasingΓÇ¥ to make higher numbers more likely, you also have to specify a scale value (integer) that is greater or equal to 2. Higher scale values result in higher peaks in the distribution profiles (probable values become even more probable).
1105 +You can select one of 5 different probability distribution profiles for the random range, flat being the default (all values in the range are equally likely). If you select another profile, e.g. increasing to make higher numbers more likely, you also have to specify a scale value (integer) that is greater or equal to 2. Higher scale values result in higher peaks in the distribution profiles (probable values become even more probable).
1145 1145  
1146 -{{code}}&lt;set_value name=&quot;$foo&quot; min=&quot;-20&quot; max=&quot;20&quot; profile=&quot;profile.increasing&quot; scale=&quot;4&quot;/&gt;{{/code}}
1107 +{{code}}
1108 +&lt;set_value name=&quot;$foo&quot; min=&quot;-20&quot; max=&quot;20&quot; profile=&quot;profile.increasing&quot; scale=&quot;4&quot;/&gt;
1109 +{{/code}}
1147 1147  
1148 -(% style="color: rgb(0,0,255);text-decoration: none;" %)
1149 -\\(% id="variables-and-namespaces" %)
1111 +(% style="color:#0000ff; text-decoration:none" %) (%%)
1112 +
1150 1150  
1151 1151  = Variables and namespaces =
1152 1152  
... ... @@ -1153,83 +1153,102 @@
1153 1153  As you have seen above, you can easily access variables by writing their name (including $ prefix) in an expression. Namespaces define in which cue the variables are actually stored (and from which cue they are read).
1154 1154  
1155 1155  (% style="color: rgb(0,0,255);text-decoration: none;" %)
1156 -\\\\\\(% id="categorybroken_macroanchorcreating-and-removing-variables" %)
1157 1157  
1120 +\\
1121 +
1158 1158  == Creating and removing variables ==
1159 1159  
1160 1160  {{{You can create variables with certain actions and conditions, such as the &lt;set_value&gt; action:}}}
1161 1161  
1162 -{{code}}&lt;set_value name=&quot;$foo&quot; exact=&quot;$bar + 1&quot; /&gt;{{/code}}
1126 +{{code}}
1127 + &lt;set_value name=&quot;$foo&quot; exact=&quot;$bar + 1&quot; /&gt;
1128 +{{/code}}
1163 1163  
1164 -<set_value> also exists as a ΓÇ£conditionΓÇ¥, which can be useful if you want to pass information about the conditions to the actions, that would otherwise be lost - like in a complex <check_any> event condition, where you want to create a variable only if you are in a certain check branch. (Other pseudo-conditions are <remove_value> and <debug_text>.)
1130 +<set_value> also exists as a condition, which can be useful if you want to pass information about the conditions to the actions, that would otherwise be lost - like in a complex <check_any> event condition, where you want to create a variable only if you are in a certain check branch. (Other pseudo-conditions are <remove_value> and <debug_text>.)
1165 1165  
1166 -The default operation of <set_value> is ΓÇ£**set**ΓÇ¥, but there are more: ΓÇ£**add**ΓÇ¥, ΓÇ£**subtract**ΓÇ¥, and ΓÇ£**insert**ΓÇ¥. //add// and //subtract// change the value of an existing variable, which is created as 0 if it didnΓÇÖt exist before. If neither //min//, //max// nor //exact// attribute is provided, an exact value of 1 is assumed.
1132 +The default operation of <set_value> is **set**, but there are more: **add**, **subtract**, and **insert**. //add// and //subtract// change the value of an existing variable, which is created as 0 if it didnΓÇÖt exist before. If neither //min//, //max// nor //exact// attribute is provided, an exact value of 1 is assumed.
1167 1167  
1168 -{{code}}&lt;set_value name=&quot;$foo&quot; operation=&quot;add&quot; /&gt;{{/code}}
1134 +{{code}}
1135 +&lt;set_value name=&quot;$foo&quot; operation=&quot;add&quot; /&gt;
1136 +{{/code}}
1169 1169  
1170 1170  The trick is that <set_value> not only works on variables, but also on list elements and table keys:
1171 1171  
1172 -{{code}}&lt;set_value name=&quot;$list.{1}&quot; exact=&quot;42&quot; /&gt;&lt;set_value name=&quot;$table.$foo&quot; exact=&quot;42&quot; /&gt;{{/code}}\\
1140 +{{code}}
1141 +&lt;set_value name=&quot;$list.{1}&quot; exact=&quot;42&quot; /&gt;&lt;set_value name=&quot;$table.$foo&quot; exact=&quot;42&quot; /&gt;
1142 +{{/code}}
1173 1173  
1174 1174  The operation //insert// is special, and it only works on lists. It inserts the value at the specified position (note that the position beyond the last element is also valid here):
1175 1175  
1176 -{{code}}&lt;set_value name=&quot;$list.{1}&quot; exact=&quot;42&quot; operation=&quot;insert&quot; /&gt;{{/code}}
1146 +{{code}}
1147 +&lt;set_value name=&quot;$list.{1}&quot; exact=&quot;42&quot; operation=&quot;insert&quot; /&gt;
1148 +{{/code}}
1177 1177  
1178 1178  This shifts the positions of all following elements up by one. If min/max/exact are missing, the default value is null for insertions, not 1 like in other cases.
1179 1179  
1180 1180  Appending is easier than that. The following actions are equivalent:
1181 1181  
1182 -{{code}}&lt;set_value name=&quot;$list.{$list.count + 1}&quot; exact=&quot;42&quot; operation=&quot;insert&quot; /&gt;&lt;append_to_list name=&quot;$list&quot; exact=&quot;42&quot; /&gt;{{/code}}
1154 +{{code}}
1155 +&lt;set_value name=&quot;$list.{$list.count + 1}&quot; exact=&quot;42&quot; operation=&quot;insert&quot; /&gt;&lt;append_to_list name=&quot;$list&quot; exact=&quot;42&quot; /&gt;
1156 +{{/code}}
1183 1183  
1184 1184  Inserting at a position below 1 or above $list.count + 1 is not possible.
1185 1185  
1186 1186  To remove variables or list/table entries, use <remove_value>:
1187 1187  
1188 -{{code}}&lt;remove_value name=&quot;$foo&quot; /&gt;&lt;remove_value name=&quot;$list.{1}&quot; /&gt;&lt;remove_value name=&quot;$table.$foo&quot; /&gt;{{/code}}\\
1162 +{{code}}
1163 +&lt;remove_value name=&quot;$foo&quot; /&gt;&lt;remove_value name=&quot;$list.{1}&quot; /&gt;&lt;remove_value name=&quot;$table.$foo&quot; /&gt;
1164 +{{/code}}
1189 1189  
1190 1190  Removing an entry from a list shifts all following elements down by one. If you want to clear an entry without removing it from the list, just use <set_value> instead.
1191 1191  
1192 1192  (% style="color: rgb(0,0,255);text-decoration: none;" %)
1193 -\\\\\\(% id="accessing-remote-variables" %)
1194 1194  
1170 +\\
1171 +
1195 1195  == Accessing remote variables ==
1196 1196  
1197 1197  You can also read and write variables in other cues by using the variable name as property key:
1198 1198  
1199 -{{code}}&lt;set_value name=&quot;OtherCue.$foo&quot; min=&quot;0.0&quot; max=&quot;1.0&quot; /&gt;&lt;set_value name=&quot;md.OtherScript.YetAnotherCue.$bar&quot; exact=&quot;OtherCue.$foo&quot; /&gt;{{/code}}
1176 +{{code}}
1177 +&lt;set_value name=&quot;OtherCue.$foo&quot; min=&quot;0.0&quot; max=&quot;1.0&quot; /&gt;&lt;set_value name=&quot;md.OtherScript.YetAnotherCue.$bar&quot; exact=&quot;OtherCue.$foo&quot; /&gt;
1178 +{{/code}}
1200 1200  
1201 1201  Instead of referencing a cue by name, you could also reference it via a keyword or another variable:
1202 1202  
1203 -{{code}}&lt;set_value name=&quot;static.$counter&quot; operation=&quot;add&quot; /&gt;&lt;set_value name=&quot;parent.$foo&quot; exact=&quot;42&quot; /&gt;&lt;set_value name=&quot;this.$bar&quot; exact=&quot;parent&quot; /&gt;&lt;set_value name=&quot;$baz&quot; exact=&quot;this.$bar.$foo&quot; /&gt;{{/code}}
1182 +{{code}}
1183 +&lt;set_value name=&quot;static.$counter&quot; operation=&quot;add&quot; /&gt;&lt;set_value name=&quot;parent.$foo&quot; exact=&quot;42&quot; /&gt;&lt;set_value name=&quot;this.$bar&quot; exact=&quot;parent&quot; /&gt;&lt;set_value name=&quot;$baz&quot; exact=&quot;this.$bar.$foo&quot; /&gt;
1184 +{{/code}}
1204 1204  
1205 1205  (% style="color: rgb(0,0,255);text-decoration: none;" %)
1206 -\\\\\\(% id="namespaces" %)
1207 1207  
1188 +\\
1189 +
1208 1208  == Namespaces ==
1209 1209  
1210 -In the examples above, a variable was written to and read from the ΓÇ£thisΓÇ¥ cue. This can be necessary: the expression ΓÇ£$fooΓÇ¥ may be different from the expression ΓÇ£this.$fooΓÇ¥. The reason for that are namespaces.
1192 +In the examples above, a variable was written to and read from the this cue. This can be necessary: the expression $foo may be different from the expression this.$foo. The reason for that are namespaces.
1211 1211  
1212 1212  Consider this case:
1213 1213  
1214 -{{code}}&lt;cue name=&quot;Root&quot;&gt; &lt;actions&gt; &lt;set_value name=&quot;$foo&quot; /&gt; &lt;/actions&gt; &lt;cues&gt; &lt;cue name=&quot;SubCue&quot;&gt; [...] &lt;/cue&gt; &lt;/cues&gt;&lt;/cue&gt;{{/code}}
1196 +{{code}}
1197 +&lt;cue name=&quot;Root&quot;&gt; &lt;actions&gt; &lt;set_value name=&quot;$foo&quot; /&gt; &lt;/actions&gt; &lt;cues&gt; &lt;cue name=&quot;SubCue&quot;&gt; [...] &lt;/cue&gt; &lt;/cues&gt;&lt;/cue&gt;
1198 +{{/code}}
1215 1215  
1216 -When the root cue creates $foo, the variable is stored in the Root cue directly. But SubCue and its descendants will also need access to $foo. Of course they could write ΓÇ£parent.$fooΓÇ¥ or ΓÇ£Root.$fooΓÇ¥, but since itΓÇÖs very common to have a single location for most variables in the whole cue tree, the easy solution is to write just ΓÇ£$fooΓÇ¥ - because variable names are looked up in the **namespace cue**, which is the root by default. Also newly created variables end up in the namespace, and not in ΓÇ£thisΓÇ¥ cue.
1200 +When the root cue creates $foo, the variable is stored in the Root cue directly. But SubCue and its descendants will also need access to $foo. Of course they could write parent.$foo or Root.$foo, but since itΓÇÖs very common to have a single location for most variables in the whole cue tree, the easy solution is to write just $foo - because variable names are looked up in the **namespace cue**, which is the root by default. Also newly created variables end up in the namespace, and not in this cue.
1217 1217  
1218 -You can also use the keyword ΓÇ£**namespace**ΓÇ¥ in expressions to get the namespace cue.
1202 +You can also use the keyword **namespace** in expressions to get the namespace cue.
1219 1219  
1220 -(% id="defining-a-cues-namespace" %)
1221 1221  
1222 1222  === Defining a cueΓÇÖs namespace ===
1223 1223  
1224 1224  When writing a cue, you can specify what the namespace of the cue should be, by adding the //**namespace**// attribute. The following values are possible:
1225 1225  
1226 -* **this**: Use ΓÇ£thisΓÇ¥ cue as namespace, even for instances: $foo == this.$foo
1227 -* **static**: Same as ΓÇ£thisΓÇ¥, but when instantiated, use the static cue: $foo == static.$foo
1228 -* **default**: The namespace is inherited from the parent cue. The default for root cues and for libraries is the same as ΓÇ£staticΓÇ¥.
1209 +* **this**: Use this cue as namespace, even for instances: $foo == this.$foo
1210 +* **static**: Same as this, but when instantiated, use the static cue: $foo == static.$foo
1211 +* **default**: The namespace is inherited from the parent cue. The default for root cues and for libraries is the same as static.
1229 1229  
1230 -(% style="color: rgb(0,0,255);text-decoration: none;" %)
1231 1231  
1232 1232  
1233 -{{warning}}Although in general the expression ΓÇ£$foo == namespace.$fooΓÇ¥ is true, there is one exception: When library parameters are evaluated in the referencing cue, variables are resolved using the parentΓÇÖs namespace. However, the referencing cue creates a new namespace, so the namespace keyword already points to the library, not to the parentΓÇÖs namespace. Example:
1215 +{{warning body="Although in general the expression $foo == namespace.$foo is true, there is one exception: When library parameters are evaluated in the referencing cue, variables are resolved using the parentΓÇÖs namespace. However, the referencing cue creates a new namespace, so the namespace keyword already points to the library, not to the parentΓÇÖs namespace. Example:
1234 1234  
1235 -<code>&lt;cue name=&quot;LibRef&quot; ref=&quot;Lib&quot;&gt; &lt;param name=&quot;Param1&quot; value=&quot;$foo&quot; /&gt; &lt;!-- $foo from parent namespace --&gt; &lt;param name=&quot;Param2&quot; value=&quot;namespace.$foo&quot; /&gt; &lt;!-- LibRef.$foo (error) --&gt;&lt;/cue&gt;</code>{{/warning}}
1217 +<code>&lt;cue name=&quot;LibRef&quot; ref=&quot;Lib&quot;&gt; &lt;param name=&quot;Param1&quot; value=&quot;$foo&quot; /&gt; &lt;!-- $foo from parent namespace --&gt; &lt;param name=&quot;Param2&quot; value=&quot;namespace.$foo&quot; /&gt; &lt;!-- LibRef.$foo (error) --&gt;&lt;/cue&gt;</code>"/}}